Beyoncé made her return to the Met Gala red carpet in extravagant fashion, marking her first appearance at the lavish event in a decade. She walked the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art with her husband, rapper Jay-Z, and their eldest daughter, Blue Ivy. Serving as co-chair for what is often dubbed “the biggest night in fashion,” Beyoncé chose a sheer gown with crystal embellishments from longtime collaborator Olivier Rousteing, giving the illusion of a skeleton, complete with a dramatic feathered train and crystal headpiece.
Blue Ivy wore a white midi dress with a balloon hemline and matching jacket, while Jay-Z opted for a black suit with a double-breasted waistcoat and a long-tailed jacket. The event, held on the first Monday in May, opened the Costume Institute’s spring exhibition titled “Costume Art,” which will be on view from May 10.
Other Co-Chairs and Honorees
Beyoncé’s co-chairs included Vogue editor Dame Anna Wintour, Hollywood star Nicole Kidman, and tennis champion Venus Williams. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez Bezos served as co-chairs and sponsors. The theme this year was “Fashion Is Art,” inviting guests to express their relationship to fashion as an embodied art form.
11 Eye-Catching Looks from the Night
1. Rihanna and A$AP Rocky
Rihanna wore an intricate silver look from Maison Margiela by Glenn Martens, featuring a heavily embellished corseted bodice and a skirt made from duchess woven silk. The handmade gown was woven from recycled metal threads normally used for computer wiring, with the bodice made from over 115,000 crystal beads, antique jewels, and chains. A$AP Rocky, a Chanel ambassador, wore a custom pink robe from the French fashion house, paired with black trousers and a white cotton shirt.
2. Madonna
Madonna channelled Surrealist painter Leonora Carrington in a witchy black gown with a dramatic translucent grey train, carried by six people. Her Saint Laurent ensemble was topped with long black hair and a horn, a direct reference to Carrington’s work. Her new album, Confessions II, is set for release on July 3.
3. Kim Kardashian
Kim Kardashian wore a fibreglass breastplate by British pop artist and sculptor Allen Jones, repurposed from a 1960s cast and shortened into a bodysuit. She paired it with a leather skirt by Whitaker Malem, loose blonde hair, and nude heels for her 13th Met Gala appearance.
4. Nicole Kidman
Co-chair Nicole Kidman wore a long-sleeved red sequinned Chanel gown with feathered accents on the hips and cuffs. She was joined by her daughter, model Sunday Rose Urban, who wore a pink gown with floral embellishments.
5. Sabrina Carpenter
Sabrina Carpenter, handpicked for the Host Committee by Dame Anna Wintour, channelled Old Hollywood glamour in a Dior halterneck dress with an extreme leg slit, created with filmstrips of Audrey Hepburn’s 1954 movie Sabrina. She completed the look with barrel curls and a diamond headpiece featuring the film’s title card.
6. Teyana Taylor
Teyana Taylor, also on the host committee, wore a head-to-toe silver fringed Tom Ford gown with a matching fringed headpiece, bringing movement to the Met Gala steps.
7. Cardi B
Cardi B wore an unusual Marc Jacobs gown with surrealist proportions, featuring a sheer black lace gown with coloured fabric underneath, bulging shoulders, and a puffed-up train. The look was inspired by Hans Bellmer’s surrealist photographs of a distorted female body.
8. Heidi Klum
Heidi Klum transformed herself into a living sculpture with latex and spandex covering her body, giving the illusion of carved stone. Her look was inspired by Raffaelle Monti’s 1847 sculpture, the Veiled Vestal, at Chatsworth House.
9. Naomi Osaka
Naomi Osaka teamed up with Robert Wun for a two-part outfit. She first arrived in an ivory coat with a matching hat and red feathered detailing, which was removed to reveal a red embellished gown studded with Swarovski crystals. The gown required over 3,280 hours of handiwork.
10. Kylie Jenner
Kylie Jenner wore a surreal Schiaparelli creation that gave the appearance of an undone gown. A nude bodysuit with visible nipples was revealed underneath a cream embellished gown that seemed to peel away from her body. She paired the look with statement silver jewellery and freshly bleached brows.
11. Sam Smith
Sam Smith proved black does not have to be boring in an extravagant embellished outfit from Christian Cowan, inspired by Russian-born French artist Erte. The look included a luxurious coat with fur trim and a Stephen Jones-designed feathered headpiece.
